Vacuum-cleaner.



B. R. CHASE.

VACUUM CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, 1910.

1 ,1187 4 1 6 Patented June 1.3, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- WiGTJEESEEI R. CHASt.

VACUUM CLEANER.

APPLICAHON FILED M AY4,1910.

1 1 87,4 1 6 v Patented June 13, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

BENJAMIN R. CHASE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB TO 182 F. ST'URTEVANT COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORZPOBATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

I To all whom it may concern:

idsagaie.

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN R. CHASE, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Allston, Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented. certain new and useful Improvements in i Vacuum-Cleaners; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, "s'uch as Will enable others skilled in the art to which it appcrtains to make and use the same.

"The present invention relates to an improvement in vacuum cleaners.

The object of the invention is to produce an improved form of vacuum cleaner which is "simple and etlicient in construction and easily adapted for the removal of the dirt collected by the machine.

To the above end the invention consists in the vacuum cleaner hereinafter described ,7 and particularly defined in the claims.

In. the accompanying drawings illustratingthe preferred form of the invention, F igure 1 is a sectional elevation; Fig. 2. is a front view; and Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are details of the construction hereinafter referred to.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention is described as "follows: The cleaner consists of a motor, fan and dust collecting devices, mounted upon wheels so as to be capable of being rolled around :trom place i to place Where it is desired to use the cleaner.

The motor is mounted on a portion of the frame 1, and connected by means of the mo tor shaft 2 with the fan 3, arranged in its casing 4, to which a handle 5 is attached.

The fan-casing 4c is provided with ears, in

' is'secured by rivets to the flange 12 projected forwa'rdlv from the face of the fan-casing 4, and it is secured by a row of rivets at its forward end to the flange-ring 13 at the front end of the casing. This fiange ring .13 carries cars 14 in which the forward roller15 is journaled. The front end of the fan-casing is closed by a two-part head. The lower half 16 of the dust-can head is secured VACUUM-CLEANER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 13,1916.

Application filed May 4, 1910. Serial No. 559,322.

to the flange-ring 13 by means of a series of screws. tllBjOlIlt between the plate 16 and the flange-ring 18 being rendered practically tight by use of a -felt gasket. The upper part 17 of the dust-can head is hinged at 18,

19 to the upper edge of the lower plate 16. This plate 17 comprises a hinged dust-door for the introduction and removal of the dust-bag and it is provided at 20 with an opening for the ingress of the dust-laden air,

a pipe 21 being provided to receive the dust-- pipe end and to discharge inside of the dustbag. The door 17 is secured in closed position by means of swing-bolts 22 which are pivoted to cars on the flangc-ri11g 13 and swing through notches in the edge of the door 17 into position to have the wing-nuts screwed up against the outside of the dooredge in order to hold the door closed. The

dust-bag is a canvas bag having a mouthring 23 inclosed in a hem at its mouth; By reference to Fig. 3, the mouth-ring 23 will i be seen to have an L-shapcd cross section; it is received Within a hem formed in the mouth of the bag. This mouth-ring 23- is formed at its corner in the manner illustrated in Fig. 4 wherein it will be observed that a notch is cut in the flange 2 k to permit the bending of the flange and ring proper 25 at right angles to each other. crosssection of the ring along the portion thereof which extends across the lower part of the doorway is shown in Fig. 3, while the cross-.

section of the portion of the ring which extends alonp the upper part ofthe doorway inserted and removed and conveniently turned inside out for the purpose 0t removing the dust therefrom. After the machine has been in use, the door 17 will be opened by loosening the swing-bolts, then the door will be dropped down, releasing the bagflbi) The bag may then be reinoved from the machine and the dust contained therein may be" emptied out, also the bag may be turned inside out andbeaten T01 the purpose of removing any dust adherin g to the canvas. 10

Then the bag is easily put back by thrusting the body of the bag through the door, by. placing the mouth of the bag in position to be embraced between the edges of the door lip 26. It will no and flange-ring 13 and the be observed that the outer edge of the door 17 is recessed on its inner sideso as to reby admission of air at this joint. The bag in.

use spreads itself over a considerablearea of the wire screen 9, as shown." The dustladen air entering the, bag deposits its dust in the bag and the air passes on through the canvas intothe fan and is discharged through the outlet 27 from the fan.

Inoperating the improved cleaner the motor driven fan creates a suction through the substantially horizontal exhaust pas sage .or fan opening 8 to draw air through the dust bag 10 which is of reater length and smaller diameter than the inclosing dust can to cause the bag to engage with a protecting screen 9 of greater area than the area of the exhaust opening and extending 'in front of and separated from the end wall of the dust can around the opening to prevent the dust bag from being drawn against the opening and to afford a free air passage behind the screen for the passage of air to the exhaust opening from the space left between the dust bag and the sides of the dust can. The current of air passes above the lowest portion of the bag which extends down- Wardly below the exhaust opening and serves to retain the accumulated dust. The current ofincoming air is not compelled to pass through the accumulated dust and the dust separated from the air by the walls of the bag does not drop downwardly against the current of air, all of which tends to'improve the efficiency of thedevice. The centrifugalfan is provided with an axially disposed opening located in the vertical wall of the fan casing which also forms the end wall of the dust can.

Various devices for supporting a bag in acleaner have been proposed, but this form of bag-support especially commends itself to the user, because it is supported in such a position that when the door is opened to remove the bag, the contents of the bag do not spill upon the floor, the bag itself being normally supported in position to hold the dust which has collected therein, 'so that the user may remove the bag with the dust in it when he desires to empty it. This flows from the fact that the dust-can is providedw'ith a bag-opening 1o ted above the bottom of the can. Again, the mouth of the bag being provided with a mouth-ring. it isconvenient to handle with its load of dust and convenient forponjibning in the machine when it is desired to replace it. Furthermore, the mouth ring secures a complete closure of the space between the door' and the wall against which it closes, there; by acting as a gasket in this capacity, the act of replacement'of the dust-bag renders 'ing unne ces'sary any separate attention to a tight-fitting joint. Another. advantage ar slng from the invention isthat the dust falls to the bottom of the bag while the air is withdrawn principally from the'end and the air is not required to be-drawn through the growing deposit of dust. In this Way the machine is capable of being run a'much longer time without emptying the dust-bag. In this connection it is to be observed that the entering blast of dust-laden air impinges directly upon the end of the bag close to the fain with the result that the principal part,

of the air is drawn through this portion of the bag. Of course, the air is not uniformly laden with dust at all times, because the operator presents the nozzle to a dusty place and then to a place where less dust is to be lifted, withthe result that in the intervals between the presentation of the nozzle to the dusty places, the air is comparatively free. from dust, and such clean air displaces from the end of the bag the dust which has just previously collected therev from the dust-laden air which preceded it. Another feature of advantage in the presentconstruction flows from the large bag area avhich provides ample opportunity for the escape of the air from the bag. This permits the machine to be run for a considerable length of time without such a thick deposit of dust on the inside of the bag as to require emptying the bag. Thesefeatures of the construction not only commend them-- selves to the user, by virtue of the advantages which they secure to him, but they also commend themselves to the manufacturer, by reason of the simplicity of the construction of the machine and the facility with which it maybe manufactured.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimedis:

1. A vacuum cleaner, having, in combination, exhaust-mechanism and dust-collecting devices comprising a dust-can having two openings therein on opposite sides and above the bottom for the ingress and egress of the air respectively so that the circulation of the air is across the upper part ofthe dust-can,

a dust-bag having its mouth inclosing the ingress opening and when expanded sub-- stantially' filling'the dust-can and having' its closed end hanging down into the lower part of the dust-can below and out of line with the egress and ingress openings, a substantially vertical screen over the mouth of the egress opening against which the side of the bag opposite the ingress opening is held by the suction of the exhaust mechanism, so that the air which passes'across the upper part of the dust bag cavity deposits its dust against the side wall of the ba covering the vertical screen, from whip the dust drops to the bottom of the bag in which there is no forced circulation of ain wliereby haust opening, and a substantially vertical screen of greater area than the exhaust opening and located in front of the opening jlOn, exhaust-mechanism and dust-collecting andin front of and separated from the Walls of the dust can around the opening to pre-,

vent the dust bag from being drawn against the opening, and to afford a greater screen area than the area of the opening.

3. A vacuum cleaner, having in combination, a dust can, a dust bag in the dust can, a centrifugal'fan, a fan casing forming the end wall of the dust can, the fan pasing having its inlet opening or eye communicating vwith the interior of the dust can, and a screen of greater area than the fan opening or eye located in front of said opening, and separated from the fan casing so as to prevent the dust bag from being drawn against the tan casing adjacent the eye, and to afford a greater screen area than the areaof the eye.

4. A vacuum cleaner having, in combination, a dust can having a horizontal exhaust passage opening in one end, a horizontally disposed dust bag having its mouth secured to the opposite end of the dust can and of greater length and smaller diameter than the dust can, and having a portion extending below the exhaust opening, a substantially vertical screen over the mouth of the exhaust opening of greater area than than the exhaust opening and extending in front of and separated from the end wall of the dust can around the opening so as to prevent the dust bag being drawn against the opening and to afford a free air passage behind the screen to the exhaust opening for the passage of air from the space left between the dust bag and the sides of the dust can. a

5. A vacuum cleaner having, in combinadevices comprising a dust-can having two openings therein on opposite sides and above the bottom for the ingress and egress of the air respectively, so that the circulation of the an is across the upper part of the dustcan, a dust-bag having its mouth inclosing' the ingress opening and having its upper part located between and substantially in line with the ingress and egress openings and having its lower part below and out of line with the ingress and egress openings, and a substantially vertical screen over the mouth of the egress opening against which the side of'the dust-bag opposite the ingress opening is held by the suction of the ex haust-Inechanism, so that the air which passes across the upper part of the dust-bag deposits its dust against the side wall of the bag covering the vertical screen, from which the dust drops to the bottom of the bag in which there is no forced circulation of air.

BENJAMIN R. CHASE.

WVitnesses ALICE AcKRoYo, WARREN G. I OGDEN. 

